Bob Quinn ( ga, Roibeard Ó Cuinn) (born

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, 1935) is an Irish filmmaker, writer and photographer who directed ''

Poitín Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the t ...

'' (1978), the first feature film entirely in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. His documentary work includes ''Atlantean'', a series of four documentaries about the origins of the Irish people. Quinn has a history of protesting the commercialisation of television, resigning from RTÉ in 1969 on that basis and resigning from the

RTÉ Authority (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

in 1999 to protest

toy advertising Toy advertising is the promotion of toys through a variety of media. Advertising campaigns for toys have been criticised for trading on children's naivete and for turning children into premature consumers. Advertising to children is usually regu ...

. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Irish Film Institute The Irish Film Institute (IFI; ), formerly the Irish Film Centre, is both an arthouse cinema and a national body that supports Irish film heritage. The IFI presents film festivals, retrospectives and curated seasons, along with independent, ...

in 2001 and is a member of the

Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association of artists. It was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of writers with support from the country's Arts Council. Membership, which is by invitation from current member ...

Early life and television career

Quinn was born in Dublin in 1935. After a series of other jobs, he moved into television in 1961, joining Ireland's national public-service television station,

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

, as a trainee studio operator the year it first broadcast. He worked up to directing films there, but resigned in 1969 in protest against the commercialisation of the network. He wrote his first book, ''Sit Down and be Counted'' with

Lelia Doolan Lelia Doolan (born 1934) is an Irish television producer. Doolan was born in Cork in 1934. She studied French and German at University College Dublin, where she won a scholarship to study at the Brecht Theatre in Germany. She presented and act ...

and Jack Dowley, who had also quit, about that episode. In 1973, he established his own production company, Cinegael, in

Carraroe Carraroe (in Irish, and officially, , meaning 'the red quarter') is a village in County Galway, Ireland, in the Irish-speaking region (Gaeltacht) of Connemara. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the Galway Hookers. Its population ...

, County Galway, together with a cinema by the same name, in which Quinn and his family lived. In June 1995, Quinn was appointed to the

. After he criticised RTÉ on Tonight With

Vincent Browne Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a nightly talk-show ...

, on

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

, on 7 November 1996, he was removed from the panel interviewing candidates to be

Director-General of RTÉ The Director-General is chief executive and editor-in-chief of public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The current director-general is Dee Forbes, who replaced Noel Curran in the role in 2016. Appointment and role The RT� ...

. Quinn had also been part of the campaign that led to the launch of TnaG, now TG4, on 31 October 1996. While on the Authority, he suspended his own membership every Christmas to protest RTÉ's reliance on

aimed at children, and he quit the Authority in July 1999, saying that "to brainwash children is simply unacceptable and the pressure it puts on parents to buy these products is simply scandalous" and that RTÉ needed to do more to represent regions of Ireland outside the capital, Dublin.

Filmmaking

In 1978, Quinn made ''

'', which was the first feature film ever made entirely in the Irish language. It was also the first feature film to receive funding from the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

. The film was a story about an illegal distiller of

poitín Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the t ...

in rural

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

and starred

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his in ...

Donal McCann Donal McCann (7 May 1943 – 17 July 1999) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor best known for his roles in the works of Brian Friel and for his lead role in John Huston's last film, '' The Dead''. In 2020, he was listed as number 4 ...

and

Niall Tóibín Niall Tóibín (; 21 November 1929 – 13 November 2019) was an Irish comedian and actor. Born in Cork into an Irish speaking family, Tóibín grew up on the north-side of the city in Bishop's Field. He appeared in ''Ryan's Daughter'', ''Bride ...

. The premiere was held in Carraroe. Quinn's 1978 documentary ''The Family'', a profile of the Atlantis commune made for RTÉ, was considered too disturbing to air and was not broadcast until the 1991. It was featured at the 2017 Tulca Festival of Visual Arts in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, which was themed around the commune nicknamed The Screamers. In 1986, Quinn wrote the script that he made into ''Budawanny'' in 1987 and for which he was awarded an Arts Council Film Script Award. Based on the 1983 novel ''Suil le Breith'' ("About Us") by , it tells the story of a parish priest on a

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

island who gets his housekeeper, Marion, pregnant and wrestles with his love for her and his commitment to the priesthood and his community. In 1994 he revisited ''Budawanny'' to make ''The Bishop's Story'', in which the priest of ''Budawanny'' is now an older bishop at a retreat house and recounts his story to a younger priest who is there to address his own alcoholism and

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

. The flashbacks to the earlier events are told using material from ''Budawanny''. In July 1989, Quinn founded the

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irela ...

with Lelia Doolan, Miriam Allen, Joe MacMahon and Steve Woods. The first Fleadh was held at the

Claddagh Palace The Claddagh Palace cinema, originally called the Estoria, opened its doors in 1939, and was located in Lower Salthill in Galway, Ireland. The cinema closed in 1995, and was redeveloped as an apartment complex. The last movie to be shown at the ...

Awards and recognition

Quinn received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

in 2001. He is a member of the

Exhibitions and retrospectives

In 2010, Quinn donated 25,000 of his negatives, taken over a period of 40 years, to the library of the

National University of Ireland Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. A selection were put on temporary display at Galway City Museum. TG4 aired a 13-week retrospective of Quinn's work beginning in October 2011. The first annual Clare Island Film Festival was a retrospective of Quinn's films in 2013. Two of Quinn's films are at the New York

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

Family life

Quinn has six children and (as of 2017) ten grandchildren. His son, Robert, is also a filmmaker. He made the film documentary ''Cinegael Paradiso'' about his childhood and his father's work in 2004.

Selected filmography

* ''Why Don't They Shoot People'' (1966) * ''Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoire'' ("Lament for

Art Ó Laoghaire Art Ó Laoghaire (IPA:ˈaɾˠt̪ˠoːˈl̪ˠiːəɾʲə, also Airt Ó Laoghaire or Art O'Leary, born 1746, died 4 May 1773), a Roman Catholic member of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, was a Captain in the Hungarian Hussars Regiment of the army o ...

") (1975) * ''Cloch'' (stone) (1975) * ''Self-portrait with Red Car'' (1977) * ''Listen'' (1978) * ''Poitín'' (1978) * ''The Family'' (1978) * ''The Atlantean Trilogy'' (1983) * ''Fly Tippers'' (1987) * ''Budawanny'' (1987) * ''Pobal in London'', ''Pobal in Boston'', ''Pobal in Germany'' (1988–1990) * ''The Bishop's Story'' (1994) * ''Graceville: The Conamaras in Minnesota'' (1996) * ''Atlantean 2: Navigatio'' (1998). Incorporated in 'The Atlantean Quartet' * ''It Must Be Done Right'' (1999). TV documentary about

* ''The Emigrant's Dance'' (2000) * ''Laoch'' (2003) * ''Splanc Deireadh na Gaeltachta (The Gaeltacht's last spark)'' (2004) * ''ConTempo Goes West'' (2005) * ''Vox Humana (Notes on a small opera)'' (2008)

Selected writings

* 1969: ''Sit Down and be Counted: The Cultural Evolution of a Television Station'', with

and Jack Dowling * 1986: ''Atlantean'' * 1991: ''Smokey Hollow: A Fictional Memoir''. O'Brien Press * 1996: ''An Tír Aneol Photography'' * 2001: ''Maverick: A Dissident View of Broadcasting Today''. Brandon * 2005: ''The Atlantean Irish: Ireland's Oriental and Maritime Heritage''. Lilliput Press * 2016: ''Aristophanes' Apple''. Self-published cli-fi novel.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Bob Irish film directors Jacob's Award winners People from County Dublin People from County Galway Aosdána members 1935 births Living people